Movement into still photos

Repost from When I Was 69 blog dated 1/31/19

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 I've already posted some old home movies changed into still photos.

But I'd love to share this one series with you, as prompted by Sepia Saturday this week.

Home movies/transformed again (Repost from January 29, 2015)

My dad started taking home movies in the 40s, with a spring wound Keystone projector.  It took 16 mm rolls of film, but when the roll was finished you'd take it out and insert it again and run it through the camera again, getting two 8-mm runs.  Always doing the switch in a closet so the film didn't get exposed, of course.

We had mainly black and white photos, but there are some surprising ones in color.

My dear son, Russ, took the originals and had Walmart's genius people put them into a DVD and then showed them to all my offspring at my 70th birthday.  It was probably pretty boring, especially with the strange sound background the Walmart guys had added.

So last night I pulled out the video, which hadn't been of any interest for years, and decided it would be nice to transform it into some stills so I could share them (and archive them) here.

Ever try to take pictures of a TV show?  Right...the black bar of death crossed most of the attempts, even when the shot was paused.

No, I didn't want to copy into a video format either.  I may try that sometime, but not yet.

Anyway, out of my attempts, and from the first 12 clips, I did get some good shots, though the originals were a bit fuzzy.  I don't know if this was original resolution, or not having a good TV screen.  And I've since reduced the resolution so I can post them here easily.  Ever notice how long it takes to post 2m photos here?

So I'll give you first a series of clips of my grandparents.

 Ada Swasey Rogers and my grandfather George Elmore Rogers, taken in about 1945.  She was around 59 and he was 68 at that time.

Location is their home in Houston, Texas, which they might have just moved to, as 3 years previously (when I was born) they had lived in San Antonio, TX.

My parents and myself were visiting from Dallas, TX.

Their sons Chauncey and George (my father) were having a good time playing with various cameras, and included catching each other telling stories.  Since the camera wound down after about a minute, they were short stories!  More next time!

I posted a lot more stills from home-movies in the following posts in 2015.

February Black History Month

 My goal was to go through my ancestors and find proof of those who owned slaves...or had dealings with the slave trade.

I get distracted however, and when looking at those who immigrated to Jamestown, I wanted to know where they settled in Virginia.

So let's look at one of the immigrants, who had been born in England, and apparently was on the early rent roles. Did he have slaves?

Peter Rogers, s. of Giles Fitz Rogers, (Capt. immigrant to VA,) is mentioned in a deed recorded in Edward Pleasants' The Valentine Papers, Vol. IV, pg. 2206 as follows:

Apparently Peter left 100 acres and 2,000 lbs of tobacco to Francis Smith, in Spotsylvania Co.

Anyone raising tobacco must have had slaves in order to produce the quantities Peter apparently had.

The DAR and my genealogist cousin think we are descended from Peter Iverson Rogers (1627-1724) I chose to believe his brother John Rogers (1680-1762) was our link to Capt. Giles Fitz Rogers.  That's partly because the DAR folks and my cousin both believe that Peter's wife Mary had been a daughter of William Byrd of Virginia. Not so. 

Records indicate Mary Byrd married someone else, and Peter Rogers probably was married to Mary Armistead.

Whether my line came from either of the brothers, we know that Henry Rogers, Sr. (1741-1794) was the emigrant from Virginia to Tennessee in the 1780s.  Henry Rogers Sr, on my tree is the son of George Rogers (1721-1792) who was the son of John Rogers (1680-1762) and thus the great-grandson of Capt. Giles Fitz Rogers.

And some Henry Rogers is on the rent roles in Virginia in Fauquier County VA...which I had to look up! It's on the NE part of the hump of VA. This Henry Rogers is probably the one I'm related to, because we know that his son (my great great some number grandfather) Rev. Elijah Rogers was born in Fauquier County VA in 1774. Fauquier County was officially formed in 1759, but was settled much earlier.

Here're a detail of 28 July 1763 deed when John Rogers rented 225 acres in Leeds Manor district from the original owner, Lord Fairfax...in which John's sons, Henry and Steven, may inherit the deed upon John's death. The yearly rent was 45 shillings, due on Christmas day.  However this kind of disrupts my sense that my Henry had been the son of George. And the John I thought might have signed this deed, had died in 1762, so it must have been another John Rogers. So that throws into the air that this Henry, son of John, would not have been the son of George instead. Argh!

In both 1770 and 1777, Henry Rogers is on the rent roles of Leeds Manor...now called the Leeds Manor historic district. I'll continue to think of this Henry as my grandfather, and work on figuring out who he was the son of later...

"John Marshall’s Leeds Manor Rural Historic District, centered on the historic Leeds Manor Road, covers over 23,000 acres in the northwest section of Fauquier County. The district’s name comes from two sources: its association with the 18th-century Manor of Leeds, which was part of Lord Fairfax’s Northern Neck Proprietary; and the Marshall family, who bought the land from Lord Fairfax’s heir in 1781. Chief Justice John Marshall, with his family and associates, farmed much of the land well into the 19th century. Many of those large parcels remain intact and are still farmed, continuing to evoke the district’s significant agricultural past. The district also contains several African American communities established in the late 19th century and associated with descendants of the founding families. The district is home to an impressive collection of historic architecture ranging from simple 18th-century farmsteads such as Marshall’s birthplace at The Hollow, to grand 19th- and 20th-century estates such as Carrington and Morven. Most significantly, however, the district retains the sweeping vistas and large open landscapes typical of its past, with minor areas of concentrated modern development.

I'll include some photos from Leeds Manor...which show the early architecture. And then I'll go research those African American communities. The Virginia Historic association must know somethign about them, the descendants of the founding families.

#030-5428_Leeds_Manor_RHD_2021_setting_VLR Virginia Dept. of Historic Resources

Historic African American Sites in Virginia

Launched in February (Black History Month) 2019, this online catalog of Commonwealth sites listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places associated with African American history will continue to grow as DHR adds new listings to both registers.

It is worth noting, the catalog below is an update and extension of DHR’s 1995 book publication Virginia Landmarks of Black History edited by esteemed architectural historian Calder Loth. Introducing the volume, scholar Armstead L. Robinson (1947-1995) wrote, “Virginia does indeed encompass this nation’s longest continuous experience of Afro-American life and culture.” An extension of that book, DHR’s online listing of “Historic African American Sites in Virginia” provides an “official catalog of the historic landmarks associated with that epic encounter,” as Robinson stated about the 1995 publication.

When I then go to the only area I have any knowledge of...Leeds Manor Historic District...I get just the same link that I originally had, with a link to the above info. I can't find out which of the (maybe 75) links might be in that district. I know they wouldn't be in DC, or Richmond...but that leaves all the rest of the sites that I don't know a thing about. I hate circular documentation of research.

So I lost the connection I've been believing for over 15 years to Capt. Giles Fitz Rogers, and will probably go with the DAR one, except for Mary Rogers not being a Byrd!

And I didn't find the Black communities either. A very big change without any fruit from the hunt.

In honor of Spencer Clack's death, July 9, 1832

 Repost from 2018

Ada & George Rogers Sr. and granddaughters Mary Elizabeth and Barbara Booth Rogers 1948 Houston TX. I'm adding this photo to posts in the George Rogers Family Tree.

I recently saw a post on one of my more famous (there aren't that many!) ancestors, Spencer Clack of Sevierville, TN.  The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) chapter is named after him there.  So Lieutenant Clack must have been pretty important in that area.  Anyway, the new post had a document about a "Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files Page 10 - Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant."

 Original marker standing (broken) and Revolutionary soldier honorary marker for Spencer Clack

Carved likeness of Spencer Clack on his grave marker. before it was broken.

Recently added document

But it was completely illegible.  I copied the photo, cropped it, enlarged it, enhanced the contrast and brightness, but it was all gibberish. So I was glad that the original source, Page 10, was cited, and when I went back there, I could read about John Alvey's pension request by his widow, Francis, or maybe her survivors as to whether she could have received pensions for the last days of her life, written in 1857.  Who is he? Who is she?

The Ancestry tree I have doesn't have any John Alvey, or even Francis Alvey on it, especially related to Spencer Clack.  I wonder who they were? And how they are related to Lt. Spencer Clack.  When I asked, the person who's tree it was added to said he/she hadn't been working on that part of her/his tree lately, and didn't know who it referred to either.

Here's the best I was able to do with my limited photo skills.  More will be coming I'm sure.

I located a pretty good summary of Spencer Clack's life, HERE. 
I'm copying it below, in case you want to know more about him.

Spencer Clack (1746-1832) 

by Miss Tommie Clack, Abilene, Texas; and J. A. Sharp, Sevierville, Tenn.

Spencer Clack, Revolutionary soldier, settled in Sevier County, Tennessee, in 1788 or 1789. Little is known of his military service except that he was a lieutenant of a Virginia (Henry County) militia company in 1782-83; Captain Tully Choice was company commander. He was born, March 28,1746. His obituary gave his birthplace as Loudoun County, Virginia, but this could not be accurate for Loudoun County was not partitioned from Fairfax County until 1757, and no Clack records, as early as Spencer's birth, were found in either of these counties. 

Spencer Clack did, however, live in Loudoun County, and witnessed there, in 1770, the will of Thomas Beavers; also, Loudoun County was probably where he married Mary Beavers about 1766. He sold his lands in Loudoun County in 1777 and moved southward to Henry County, Virginia about 1778, when he purchased land in the latter county. In 1786, when Franklin County, Virginia, was formed from parts of Henry and Bedford Counties, he became one of the first justices of the new county, and in 1787 he sold his Franklin County lands, just before his westward trek to Sevier County, Tennessee. 

No conclusive proof of the parentage of Spencer Clack has been offered, although various attempts to do so have been made by descendents and genealogists. It does seem certain, however, that he descended from Rev. James Clack, English-born rector of Ware Parish, Gloucester County, Virginia, from 1679 to 1723. 

The Spencer Clack home in Sevier County was located on the right bank of Little Pigeon River, immediately below the junction of the East Fork and West Fork of that river. Here, in 1808, Spencer obtained an occupant grant from Tennessee for 442 acres; most of this land was on the north bank of East Fork directly opposite to the town of Sevierville, or the Forks-of-Little Pigeon, as this frontier settlement was known. The Chandlers and Walkers, Clack descendents, later owned the same place and the old Clack home was located on the same site as the later Chandler-Walker home. Near his home Spencer operated one of Sevierville's first mills, also a cotton gin and wool-carding machine. 

Spencer Clack was prominent in the affairs of the Forks-of-Little Pigeon (Sevierville) Baptist Church from the time of its formation in 1789 until his death. For many years he served as church clerk. In addition to his church activities he was interested in education and politics. He was an early trustee of Nancy Academy, Sevier County's first school and gave money for its support. He was one of the five Sevier County delegates to the Knoxville convention of 1796, which drafted and adopted Tennessee's first constitution and he was a signer of that document. He also represented Sevier County in the lower house of the first three Tennessee legislatures, 1796-1802, and in 1801 he served on the legislative committee "to prepare a device and motto" for the Great Seal of Tennessee. 

Neither the Spence Clack Bible record nor the Spence Clack will have been found; therefore, the writers will list only those who were unquestionably children of Spencer and Mary Beavers Clack. Perhaps, in this way, the confusion and error of other Clack descendents and genealogists may be avoided. Good proof exists for the following Clack children: Martha, Rawleigh (Rolly) (b. 1772), Rhoda (b. 1776), Catherine (b. 1778), Frances (b. c1783), Mary (b. 1785) and Malvina. 

Martha Clack's marriage to Josiah Rogers occurred in Franklin County, Virginia, in 1786; they apparently came to Sevier County with the Clacks. Rawleigh Clack was married (1) to Mary Randles in 1791, and after her death he was married (2) to Martha Kerr in 1816; this marriage took place in Sevier County. Sixteen children resulted and about 1820 Rawleigh and family moved down the Tennessee River to Rhea County, Tennessee, where he died in 1842. Rhoda Clack married James Randles in 1791; they raised a family of twelve on Boyd's Creek in Sevier County. Randles died in 1816, while on a trip to Virginia for salt, and was buried somewhere in Washington County, Virginia. Catherine Clack was married, in 1794, to Rev. Elijah Rogers, early and well known Baptist minister in East Tennessee; they raised five sons and five daughters at their Sevier County home near the mouth of the Little Pigeon, on the French Broad River. Mary Clack married William Miller; they left Sevier County at an early date and settled in Meigs County, Tennessee, where she died in 1860. Frances Clack was married (1) to Mordecai Gist; after his death she married (2) John Mynatt of Knox County, Tennessee. Malvina Clack married Major Beavers; they left Sevier County for Talladega County, Alabama, soon after the War of 1812. 

There were doubtless other Clack children, but the writers do not believe that Spencer Clack, Jr. John Clack and Nancy Clack were children of Spencer and Mary Beavers Clack, as some published accounts claim. However, there is a well established tradition that there was a son, Micajah Clack, who was "killed by lighting." And there may have been a daughter named Rebecca Clack, but again we must rely only upon tradition for proof. Also, in 1789, one Sarah Clack (b. c1773) married William Henderson in the "Forks of Little Pigeon," as shown by bounty land papers in the National Archives; they migrated to St. Louis County, Missouri, about 1840. We believe that this Sarah Clack, heretofore unknown to present generations of Clack descendents, was another daughter of Spencer and Mary. 

Spencer Clack's death occurred, July 9, 1832 and he was buried in the old Baptist Cemetery at Sevierville; the original flat limestone rock with the unique carving of Spencer's face and the initials, "S.C.", still marks his grave. Mary Beavers Clack died, August 14, 1840, and was buried by the side of her husband. At the time of his death a contemporary described Spencer Clack as a "pious… worthy Christian, kind and affectionate. . .an excellent neighbor, remarkably even and unruffled in temper."

I highlighted Catherine Clack and Rev. Elijah Rogers, my great times 4 grandparents.

If you know who the Alvey's were, please leave a comment below! Thanks. 

Clack and Kindred Souls publication information

 A repost of a repost. The question that has come from "unknown" comments twice in the several years after I posted this, was "How do I get a copy of this document?"

Well I looked back at the 2015 resource which I'd saved to my Ancestry tree, and found it had come from another Ancestry member, who I don't know, nor believe I have any relationship to. RosalieBennettChruma

RosalieBennettChruma originally shared this on 25 Mar 2015

Look to the bottom of the original post which follows...I've added the introduction page which gives contact information for the authors.

 Thursday, August 16, 2018

One document explains it all

NOTE: a repost from my other blog...gathering the more recent blog posts into one place for access and organization!

My great times five uncle was Raleigh (Rolly) Robert Clack (1772-1842). His sister Catharine (Aunt Katy) Beulah Clack Rogers  (1778-1850) married Rev. Elijah Rogers, (1774-1841) who were my great times four grandparents, and they all lived in Sevier County, TN in its early settlement stages.

This week was the first time I looked at Great Uncle Rolly's family at all.  Maybe because it was so extensive!  He had 16 children, with two different wives at different times.  His first wife Mary Genieve Randles Clack (1770-1816) gave birth to 9 children.  He remarried within the year of her death to Martha Kerr Clack (1787-1858) who then gave birth to 7 more children of his.

Someone* wrote a book about his family, and most of those children spread out moving west to Missouri and Texas. The book is  Clack and Kindred Souls.  It has some good genealogical research including this one page which clarifies the marriages of Clack and Kerr family members in Sevier County in the early 19th century.  Without reading this page where the 4 Kerr/Clack marriages are laid out in simplicity, I would have just given up on understanding who was married to whom.

It is written with a bit of humor, which includes the various relationships of in-laws by having sisters and brothers of Great Uncle Rolly's wife marrying his older children.

I do wish I could find a document like this for many of the other families which married brothers/sisters etc.!! (That's a brother married a sister of the spouse of one person, not a brother married his sister!)

* Thanks to the authors of this book, Edna Clack Sacks and Joyce Kerr!

Sorry it's a bit blurry...Edna Clack Sachs of Spring City TN, and Joyce Kerr of Memphis TN...and they listed their email addresses as well...when they copyrighted the publication in June 2001.

Since I can't respond to any of these anonymous comments, I hope they look at this blog and get the information themselves.

The lords and ladies continued

To continue with a theme of going back in my ancestry as far as there are records designating these are my ancestors. So I'm on my father's Rogers Family Tree. The last time I posted about them was on March 30. I'd started to look at the parents of Clarissa Elizabeth Huntington Reynolds, my 12 times great grandmother.

Lady Clarissa Huntington Reynolds' father was Sir Robert Huntington, knight. He had been born in 1502 in East Bergholt, Suffolk, Eng. He died 7 Feb 1579 in Shropshire, Eng.

He married Lady Anne Stanley Derby Huntington when she was 16 and he was 24, in 1526 in Kent, England. Lady Anne was born in 1510 in Southampton, Hampshire, Eng. and died in 1570 in Kent, Eng.

Those were my great times 13 grandparents.

Sir. Robert's parents were Sir Richard Huntington, b. 1468 Hempstead, Essex, Eng; d. 1552, London, Middlesex, Eng. and Alice Huntington Castell, b. 1470 Little Stampford, Eng; d. 1546 Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, Eng.  These grandparents times 14 greats are as far as this line goes.

All Saints Church, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, Eng.

Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, Eng.

Following the Basse family grands to the 11 greats

When I went back on the Buschier line, I found French, Sicilian, and even some folks with knighthoods and titles.

Returning to Humphrey Benjamin Basse Sr., the father of American immigrant Nathaniel Bass, and Humphrey's own parents. His father, my 11 times great grandfather, was William Humphrey Benjamin Basse, b. 8 Mar 1520 in Dammartin, Haute-Marne, Champaigne-Ardenne, France. He died 13 May 1614 (or 1616) and is buried at St. John the Baptist, Hillingdon, Middlesex, England.

Humphrey Benjamin Basse Sr.'s mother was Mary (Margaret) Carkin/Larkin Basse. She was born in 1525 in Wells, Sommerset, England. She married William Humphrey Benjamin Basse either in 1542 or 1545. They probably had at least 6 sons, whose birth dates may well be inaccurate.

Whatever records may still exist, they give my 11 times great grandmother a great age before her death, of 91 years, dying in London, England, and buried at St. Helen Bishopgate on 20 July 1616.

I briefly looked at Mary (Margaret) Carkin/Larkin Basse's parents on Ancestry.

Do you see me throwing my hands up in amazement? It's because these families sound so familiar to the ones I found just yesterday, or maybe the day before.

Remember Dominic Buschier from Sicily? Today I find him as Domanic Carkin, born 1501 in Menfi, Agrigento, Sicily, Italy. He died in London, Middlesex, England on 8 Dec. 1596. His wife was Genevieve Jane Clerke Carkin, born in 1505 (?) in Rouen, France. And she lived an unbelievable long time until a death recorded as April 10, 1620, in Wiltshire England. She was not only listed on 3 other ancestry trees as living 115 years, but these 3 trees said her father was a Clerke, and she married Dominic Buschier, and was mother of Mary Buschier Basse rather than Mary mother of Humphrey Basse. She can't very well be both!

So once again I stop at the 11 greats of grandparents...because it's just spaghetti from here on. Possibly someone has correct ancestors, but that information is currently hiding behind some fictionalized trees.

And since this Carkin/Larkin wife is so unbelievable, I think I'd best leave her parents blank on my tree for now. I have heard of Carkin/Larkin in other places in the Rogers ancestors. but these poor folks have been misappropriated by some eager Ancestry tree writers. 

Eleven and twelve times great grandparents

The French/Italian family had a lot of names on each individual, indicating some royal standing, I think.

Genevieve Jane Buschier de Clerke Lady Roan had been born in Roan sometime between 1540-1550. Her husband, Dominic, came from  Sicily. And I realize Sicilians are not quite the same as regular Italians. This 11 times great grandfather had been born in Minfi, Provincia di Agrigentio, Sicily. But  I don't think he was Italian after all.

When I look at the parents of this couple, I find yet more titles, in various languages.   Domic's father was listed as Sir John Thomas I Burcher/de Bourchier/Warine-fan Bath, Lord Fitz Warin/Warine, 2nd Earl Bourchier van Bath.

Domick's mother may have been Countess Lady Elizabeth Isabel Eleonore Manners Hungerford-Bath-Wentworth-Burcher/ Countesss of Bath.

I think whoever wrote those names on our ancestry was carried away by various spellings. But none of the three trees which list all of those names of Sir John Thomas and Lady Elizabeth of England mention a son named Dominic, nor a Sicilian connection.

So we're not going to name all the titles which may have been there, but not in Sicily I'd imagine. Rather we're going to let Dominic be the last of the line at 11 greats. And his parents may just be the Buschiers of Sicily.

Since he married a titled woman of Roan France, then settled in England, it is reasonable to think that they were immigrants who moved to survive. This was not clear in any of the documents I've found, and the countries were not at war at the time these ancestors were living, I don't think. But it's possible the religious conflicts may have affected these ancestors if they identified themselves as Huguenots. I don't have any documents to that affect either.

So Lady Roan, Genevieve Jane Buschier de Clerke was probably Marie Buschier Basse's mother. 

Genevieve's parents were probably:

John de Clerk (1515-1545)  and possibly Elizabeth someone. She was not Lady Elizabeth Ashton, who married someone else. I wonder who is putting this tree together! But John de Clerk was born and died in France. We don't know the name of his wife, though a guess at Elizabeth is just a guess.

His father was also named John de Clerk d'Ford (1503-3 May 1559) born in Wrotham, Tonbridge and Malling Borough, Kent, England, and died in Finningham, Mid-Suffolk District, Suffolk, England.

And again we find a knighthood has been bestowed on John de Clerk d'Ford...as well as having two wives listed, a Margaret and a Lucy. So while I unwind the tangled web of these 13 times great grandparents, I'll leave you to relax in knowing I had some French, probably Sicilian, and mainly English ancestors.

Richard Bass, Seven times great grandfather

A repost of information about Richard Bass, the grandson of Nathaniel, the first Bass immigrant to the Virginia Colonies. 

Richard Bassye 1658-1722 was my seven times great grandfather. He was born and died in Norfolk, Nansemond County, VA. His birth date was 2 August 1658. He was not the same as Richard Taylor Bassye/Bass.

North America, Family Histories and Alabama, Surname Files Expanded, 1702-1981 give the same information about Richard Bassye.  Richard is in the final paragraph on the following page, but I shall be using this information about his parentage as well in the next few posts here.

This information coincides with that of Dr. Albert Bell's 1961 book, The Bass Familie of the South. This is the book that many Bass descendants scoff at, as having been written to appease some descendant who wanted a heritage including Huguenot ancestors.

The Native American descendants who dislike the Bell book state that it is misleading as well because it gives John Bass' wife the incorrect name of Keziah Tucker.  They point to the actual document in their tribe's possession, which states his wife was Elizabeth. Tucker is the name that his brother, Edward Bass' wife Mary had...named Mary Tucker Bass. They say she was not supposedly a sister/cousin of Elizabeth, though they were both full blood Nansemond Indians.  That's the way several indignant Native Americans have spelled out one mistake made by Dr. Bell.

I've written about Elizabeth's life (or Kesiah Tucker) a little in yesterdays post.

Back to Richard, father of Richard and Andrew, his sons who moved to Craven County, NC.  Richard stayed in Virginia all his life.  I just read an application for a Sons of the American Revolution, which had been suggested as documentation about this family...only to find the Richard Taylor Basye it talked about lived in the time of the Revolutionary war, 1776.  SO that got him deleted from my files.  This Richard Bass lived from 1658-1722.

The reason so much difficulty has been found around the Native American tribe of the Nansemonds is that the racial problem started early in Virginia, one of the first laws being that Englishmen could not marry Indians.  The other side of the same coin is that later on, the tribal elders would not accept lineage that was questionable when someone wanted to belong to the Nansemond Tribe.

Richard Bass was the ninth of the ten children of Elizabeth and John Bass of what is now Nansemond County, VA.  That meant he was half American Indian, and half English colonial.  In 1680 he married his first wife, Jane Bryant. They had seven children before she died in 1690.  (Interestingly the document above only names 5 of these children.)

In 1695 he marred his second wife, Mary Burwell, and they had another 7 children. My six times great grandfather, Andrew Bass Sr. was the oldest of the second family of 7.

Richard Bass died 26 Dec, 1722, in Norfolk, Nansemond, VA.

John Basse and wife, Nansemond Indian, Kesiah Elizabeth Tucker Basse

 The stories passed down to the Bass family (repost from 2013)

John Basse 1616-1699 immigrant (8G)

John Basse 1616-1699 was my eight times great grandfather. He immigrated to the American colonies from England by 1622, age 5-6.  His siblings may have included 3 sets of twins according to various Ancestry trees (which aren't always exactly right on birthdays.)

I enjoyed sharing much of the following story with my son and his wife over dinner the other night in New Mexico. Being surrounded by many Native Americans in the southwest of our country makes me more aware of how many of them have suffered at the hands of European immigrants and the dominant culture they established. However, I don't in any way claim to be more than related in a minuscule way to the Native cultures by John Bass' marriage to Elizabeth the Nansemond Indian.

Here's the blog I posted first in 2013, and again this spring of 2019.  It has some points that are under contention, especially by the Nansemond Indian tribe.

SOURCE:

https://southernrootsandbranches.wordpress.com/2013/08/03/john-basse-a-story-of-the-new-world/

A cousin who blogged in 2013 about his connection to the Bass Family...very nicely written, so I went back to the original to get the pictures to add here as well! Thanks Billy Pittard. I have no recent posts by him, so perhaps he's moved on to other interests since his last blog in July 2018.

John Basse, a Story of the New World

Posted in Bass, Batey, Henderson on August 3, 2013| 96 Comments »

Pocahontas when visiting England

John’s grandfather, Humphrey Basse and his brothers, William and Thomas were French Huguenots who immigrated to London during the reign of Elizabeth I seeking religious freedom. Humphrey married Mary Bouchier, daughter of Dominick and Genevieve Bouchier, also French Huguenots. Humphrey was an entrepreneurial man, first as a merchant haberdasher, and then as an investor and stockholder in the Virginia Company which financed settlements in Jamestowne, Virginia. Humphrey invested in the Third Charter of the Virginia Company signing as a founder on March 12, 1612.

Arriving in Virginia

In 1619 when John was three years old, his father, thirty-year-old Nathaniel Basse made his first trip to the new colony. On April 27, 1619 Nathaniel arrived at Jamestown on Captain Christopher Lawne’s ship. They brought workmen, supplies and one hundred settlers. Their camp was at the mouth of a creek near Jamestown, still named, Lawne’s Creek, from which they built the first settlement in Isle of Wight County, Virginia.

By mid-summer 1619, there were about a thousand English living in Virginia. In early August, the first legislative assembly in America met in the church at Jamestowne. This meeting established the principle of elected self-rule in America and became a foundation of our Republic. Five months later, the Virginia Company dissolved its subsidiary company which had been formed to exclusively supply the colony. Thereafter, free trade prevailed in the colony and laid the foundation for free enterprise as the form of the American economy.

Nathaniel made frequent trips between Virginia and London over the next few years. On November 21, 1621 he made his move to establish a home in the New World and patented 400 acres on the James River at Pagan Creek in Isle of Wight County. Here he founded Basse’s Choyce Plantation and built a home for himself and his young family.

John’s maternal grandfather, Silas Samuel Jordan was also an early Virginia Adventurer. In 1620 he received a grant of land on the James River at Bailey’s Creek near the present Hopewell, Virginia. Here, at what is still called Jordan’s Point, he and established a home for his family in the New World.

Indians kept a close watch on the English settlers.

Throughout this period, relations with the Indians had been volatile. Early encounters had been hostile, and then the “Peace of Pocahontas” gave the settlers a sense that conditions would remain amenable.

Having established Basse’s Choyce Plantation, John’s father began to move his family to Virginia. In early 1622, six-year-old John Basse along with at least one of his brothers were at Basse’s Choyce when their parents made a return trip to England.

And then disaster struck. Emperor Powhatan (father of Pocahontas) had died four years earlier and had been succeeded by his brother, Opechancanough. He wanted no part of the white men and he patiently organized a surprise attack that was carried out by almost every tribe in the area. On the same day, at the same time, and anywhere there was a white man, he was to be killed.

At midday on Good Friday, March 22, 1622, there were twelve hundred forty English inhabitants in the Colony of Virginia. Of these nearly four hundred were killed by Indians. At the house of Captain John Basse, only six-year-old John Basse survived. John’s oldest brother seven-year-old Humphrey and possibly other siblings were killed in the attack.

Virginia Indians attack the colony, March 22, 1622

John’s parents, Nathaniel and Mary arrived back in Virginia on the ship Furtherance within the next couple of weeks only to find their oldest son (and possibly others) killed in the massacre, and six-year-old John was missing without a trace. They found the woods around the English settlements patrolled by hostile Indians.

Nathaniel and Mary had little time to mourn because Basse’s Choyce had to be immediately repaired for the birth of another child. On May 8, 1622 their sixth child, Edward, arrived. To make matters even more dire, in December an epidemic arrived with the ship Abigail, and killed twice as many people as the Indian attacks. The colony also had a poor harvest that year and experienced another “starving time” throughout the winter of 1622-23. Less than 500 survived to see the spring of 1623.

Amid the carnage that happened that fateful Good Friday, young John Basse managed to slip away from the attackers and into the forest. Fortune smiled on the boy as he was found and taken in by friendly Nansemond Indians who were fleeing from the hostilities. His rescuers managed to reach the Nansemond River with John before their enemies had organized patrols in the woods.

John’s rescuers took him into their tribe and gave him advantages and standing. He absorbed the Nansemond culture. In spite of the danger, missionaries continued to teach the Nansemonds – including young John Basse – and he matured to become literate and a Christian.

By the time he was twenty-two John had fallen in love with a Nansemond girl whom he knew as Keziah Elizabeth Tucker, daughter of Chief Robin the Elder, but to the English she was the Princess Keziah Elizabeth, daughter of the King of the Nansemond Kingdom. On August 14, 1638 John and Keziah Elizabeth, age 14, were married. She was born about 1624 at Kecoughton, an Indian village in Virginia (now part of the city of Newport News). “Keziah” is an old testament name that can mean faithful or female equality.

Writing on the cover of the “Book of John Basse”

At some point during his remarkable lifetime, John acquired an English prayer book which served as his family Bible. In this book he recorded many important facts and events. This book exists today and is in the possession of his Nansemond tribe descendants.

John Bass’ prayer book is a manuscript religious book of about 100 pages. It measures 4 5/8″ by 7 1/4″. The author’s name not known. The earliest date of a sermon entry is March 4, 1660. In ink on the cover is written “Book of John Basse Norfolk Co., Vir. A. D. 1675.”

John recorded the following passage in his prayer book:

“John Basse was born ye 7 day of September in ye year of our Lord 1616 ye son of Nathll Basse and Mary his wife… he married Elizabeth dafter of Robin the Elder, King of ye Nansimuns kingdom, a Baptized xtian, in Holy Matrimonie accdg to ye Canons of ye Church of England, ye 14th day of August in the Year of our Blessed Lord 1638.”

At some point it is believed John reconnected with his birth family because his brother Edward (born immediately after the massacre of 1622) married Keziah Elizabeth Tucker’s cousin.

John and Keziah were living in Nansemond territory when it became Upper Norfolk and then Nansemond County, Virginia. John passed away in 1699 at the age of 82 in Norfolk, Virginia. Keziah Elizabeth passed away in 1676 at the age of 52.

John and Keziah Elizabeth had eight children and today have countless descendants.
---------------------------------------
continuing the document being quoted, the voice changes to that of Billy Pittard himself...

My (Billy Pittard) Ancestry from John and Keziah Elizabeth Basse is as follows:

John Basse (1616-1699) + Keziah Elizabeth Tucker (1624-1676)
William Bass (1654-1741) + Catherine Lanier (1650-1692)
John Bass (1673-1732) + Love Harris (ca. 1677-1732)
John Bass (1715-1777) + Elizabeth Winborne
Jacob Bass (1740-1792) + Ann Fuller (1733-1791)
Theophilus Bass (1753-1826) + Rachel Vinson (1755-1824)
Etheldred Bass (1785-1875) + Nancy Brien (b. ca. 1790)
John B. Bass (b. 1813) + Susan Barbee (b. ca. 1819)
Sarah Jane Bass (1840-1876) + John Bond Henderson (1834-1898)

Sarah Jane Bass, first wife of John Bond Henderson

See my (Billy Pittard's) post on the Henderson Family of Middle Tennessee for the continuation of this part of my (Billly Pittard's) ancestry which comes forward through my mother and maternal grandmother.

In the above ancestry, Theophilus Bass forward were residents of Wilson County, Tennessee, particularly around Watertown.

Interestingly, I (Billy Pittaard) also have a connection to John and Keziah Elizabeth Basse through my maternal grandfather, Frank Blackburn Batey as well, but in that case it is a through marriage rather than blood. My ancestor, Captain William Batey, the progenitor of the Batey family of Middle Tennessee married a second time after his first wife, my ancestor died. His second wife, Ann Bass was the great granddaughter of John and Keziah Elizabeth Bass.

It’s safe to say that a great many locals from Middle Tennessee are descended from John and Keziah Elizabeth Bass.

Links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nansemondhttp://chowanoke.webs.com/bassegenealogy.htm
http://www.geocities.ws/eldavis.geo/jbassebi.html

A special thanks goes to my (Billy Pittard's) distant cousin Mary Frances Andrews Meek of Knoxville, Tennessee who shared this story and much more with me many years ago. Her research was thorough and diligent.

--------------------The above blog was published in 2013 -------

I read several things in this treatise, which lead me to believe that John and Elizabeth lived with the Nansemond Indian tribe...where he was educated as any Native American boy would have been, with the plus of a priest teaching him religion and reading and writing.

But the question in my mine is, when and how did he reconcile with his parents and the rest of his brothers and sisters? The early Virginia racial purity laws said colonials couldn't marry the Native Indians.

I think this account is a bit of conjecture on the part of the author(s.)

One critique (of only minor note) is that the attack on Basse's Choice was said to be at mid-day, and then a painting is given depicting natives attacking at dark.

Another generation of my list...the great X4 grands!

parents of c1 Micajah Clack Rogers,

c1/e1 Rev. Elijah Rogers, b.May 1774, Fauquier Co. VA, d. 11 May 1841, Sevierville, Sevier Co. TN

c1/f2 Catharine (Aunt Katy) Clack Rogers, 23 June 1778, Henry Co, VA, d. 30 Oct. 1850 Sevierville, Sevier Co. TN

c1 Micajah Clack Rogers (1795-1873)

parents of d2 Cyntha O. Cannon Rogers,

d2/e3 William Henry Cannon, b. 28 Nov 1771, Cumberland Co, VA, d. 11 June 1868, Sevier Co. TN

d2/f4 Catharine Henderson Cannon, b. 1777/78, Virginia, d. 15 Nov. 1827, Athens, McMinn Co. TN

parents of c3 Hiram Gibbs, 

c3/e5 Col. James Gibbs, b. 1740, Orange Co. VA,  d. 7 Aug. 1794, Union Dist. SC, (Vet. Am. Rev.)

c3/f6 Ann Barnett Johnson Gibbs, b. 30 Nov. 1740, Orange Co, VA, d. 23 May 1831, Union, Union Dist. SC

parents of d4 Sabra Ann Wilbourne Gibbs,

d4/e7 Maj. Elijah Lige Wilbourne, b. 1 June 1763,  d. Feb. 1819, Union, Union Dist. SC, (Vet Am. Rev. NSDAR 105874)

d4/f8 Mary "Molly" Rountree Welbourn, b. 1 June 1772, Goochland, Goochland Co. VA, d. 16 Oct. 1851, Panola Co. MS

parents of c5 John Bass,

c5/e9 Edward Bass, b. 1754, Johnston Co, NC, d. 1802, Wayne Co. NC

c5/f10 Sarah Farmer (or Stevens) Bass, b. @ 1758, Wayne Co. NC, d. Jan. 1826, Wayne Co. NC

parents of d6 Juliann (Jullia A.) Holloman Bass Green,

d6/e11 Holloman not clear - could be Thomas or Ezekiel Holloman

d6/f12 not clear...depending upon which is father of Juliann 

parents of c7 James Moore Powell,

c7/e13 Willis Richard Powell, b. 1760 or 1775, Chowan or Edgecomb, NC, d. 1807, Bertie Co. NC

c7/f14 Sealey Celia (Sally) Everet/Averitt Powell, b. 1761, NC, d. Oct. 1818, Bertie Co. NC

parents of d8 Nancy Jones Traylor Powell

d8/e15 Champion Travis Traylor, Sr., b. 6 Feb 1770 Dinwiddie, Dinwiddie Co. VA, d. 4 April 1832, Perry Co. AL

d8/f16 Sarah Sketon Jones Traylor, 1 Feb. 1780, Sussex, Sussex Co. VA, d. 4 April 1847, Union Parish, LA

Belle d'Arbonne, Union Parish Louisiana

parents of c9 Alexander G. Swasey, Sr. Capt., b. 

c9/e17 Lt. Jerathmel Bowers Swasey, b.10 May 1752, Somerset, Bristol Co. MA, d. 4 Feb. 1826, Somerset, Bristol Co. MA (Vet. Am. Rev.)

c9/f18 Sarah Hellon Swasey, b. 23 Geb 1757, d. 25 Dec. 1836, Somerset, Bristol Co. MA

parents of d10 Ruth Woodward, d10/e19 unknown and d10/f20 unknown

parents of c11 John P. Zylstra, c11/e21, unknown and c11/f22, unknown

parents of d12 Charlotta (Charlotte) Zylstra, d12/e23 unknown and d12/f24 unknown

parents of c13 William Phillips, Sr c13/e25 unknown and c13/f26 unknown

parents of d14 Mary C. Phillips Gainer

d14/e27 unknown and d14/f28 unknown

parents of c15 George Tyler Granger, (Lumber merchant and surveyor)

c15/e29 Joseph Granger, (blacksmith) b. 17 Dec. 1765 Andover, Essex Co. MA, d. 21 March 1847, Newburyport, Essex Co. MA

c15/f30 Sarah Tyler Granger, b. Oct. 1768, Chelmsford, Middesex Co. MA, d. 6 Oct. 1831, Newburyport, Essex Co. MA

parents of d16 Lucy Elizabeth Parsons Pulsifer Granger, 

d16/e31 Capt. Ebenezer Pulsifer, Jr. b. bef. 26 Dec. 1773, Ipswich, Essex Co. MA, d. 7 Nov. 1827, Newburyport, Essex Co. MA

Old Hill Burying Ground, Newburyport, MA

d16/f32 Elizabeth (Betsy) Dwelle (Dwellbee) Pulsifer, b. 18 Sept. 1762, Scituate Co. MA, d. abt. 1824, Essex Co. MA

parents of Samuel Webb c17 and d18 unknown, and perhaps there are grandparents, Francis Webb, but he had a son Samuel who wasn't my ancestor...so I'm not sure there's any link there - so there are 4 missing ggg's

parents of c19 William B. Delamater, c19/e33 and c19/f34 - unknown

parents of d20 Sarah J. Lester Delamater, d20/e35 and d20/f36 = unknown

parents of c21 Richard Frederick Williams, 

c21/e37 Frederick Andrew Williams, b. 13 Feb. 1864, Orangeburg, Orangeburg Co. SC, d. 18 Nov. 1831, Linsdale, Polk Co. TN

c21/f38 Cassandra Elizabeth "Cassiah" Tate Williams, b. 1765, Shoal Creek, Cherokee Co. NC, d. 1851 Bradley, TN, buried in Benton TN.

parents of d22 Nancy Hansford Williams,

d22/e39 Rev. Thomas J. Hansford, b. 10 April 1758, Orange, Orange Co. VA, d. 1841, Crab Orchard, Lincoln Co., KY

d22/f40 Margaret Beattie Hansford, b.13 Sept. 1872, VA, d. Aug 1861, Lincoln Co. KY

parents of c23 Fielding White

c23/e41 William White, b. 1760 VA, d. Nov. 1832, Lincoln Co. KY

c23/f42 Levisa Singleton White, b. 1770, VA, d. 3 Mar 1802, Lincoln Co. KY

parents of d24 Levisa (Louisa) Hocker White

d24/e43 Philip Samuel "Long?" Hocker, b. 16 May 1778, Ellicott Mills, Montgomery Co. MD, d.12 Jan 1856 or aft. Sept 1857, McKinley Station, Lincoln Co. KY. or he could be Phillip "Short" Hocker.

d24/f44 Several possiblities: Sarah Dorcas (Sally) Dunkin Hocker, b.26 Jan 1784, Montgomery Co. MD, d.1833, Lincoln Co. KY...or Dorcas Barrett, or Amanda Lee Hocker

no parents of 2 parents of Charles Miller.

c25, d26, c27, or d28, now another 8 parents are missing to d28/f52

parents of c29 William Lewis Booth, 

c29/e53 Isaac Booth (shoe maker) b. 16 May 1795, Stratford, Fairfield Co, CT, d. 17 Aug. 1836, Canandaiga, Ontario Co. NY.

c29/f54 Jane McElhaney Booth, b. 30 Oct. 1794, Dauphin Co. PA, d. 3 Oct 1833, Green Creek, Sandusky Co. OH

parents of d30 Hannah Conn Booth,

d30/e55 James Alexander Conn, b. bet. 1780-1794, NC, d. 1828, Henry Co. KY

d30/f56 Nancy Erwin Conn, b. 1785, Berkeley Co. WV, d. aft. 1840, IN

parents of c31 Carroll Witty, 

c31/e57 James Witty, b. 14 Feb 1763, Greensboro, Guildford Co, NC, d. bet. 1830-1840, Limestone Co. AL

c31/f58 Lucretia Wells Witty Barnett, b. 1775, Surry, NC, d. aft. 1849, IN

parents of d 32 Susan Elizabeth Hoke Witty,

d32/e59 Joseph Hoke, b.17 Jan 1793, SC, d. 17 Sept. 1852, Limestone Co. AL

d32f60 Elizabeth Hunt Hoke, abt. 1793, SC or Madison Co. AL, d. 20 May 1846, Limestone Co, AL

So I'm pretty surprised how many of my ancestors' trees can be researched back to the mid eighteenth century. That's a lot for those times. And there are many of them who moved from their place of birth to a new local...either west or south. I don't think anyone went north.

It won't be easy to find the generations of my great times five grandparents. But there are several which go back to dear old England, Scotland and Ireland. The ones who went back to France, Germany and the Netherlands haven't been attached very well. Perhaps those records will become available someday.